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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/25699678">let me see you</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ota_chan/pseuds/Ota_chan'>Ota_chan</a>, <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Yotsuba/pseuds/Yotsuba'>Yotsuba</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Magic Kaito, 名探偵コナン | Detective Conan | Case Closed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Bind!Kaito, Black Organization (Meitantei Conan), Blindness, Canon-Typical Violence, Cursed!Kaito, Kaishin Big Bang 2020 (Meitantei Conan), M/M, Soulmates, bamf!kaito, kaishinbb2020, kaishinbigbang2020</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-08-04</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-08-04</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-05 08:15:30</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>10</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>13,319</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/25699678</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ota_chan/pseuds/Ota_chan, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Yotsuba/pseuds/Yotsuba</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Most people have soulmates, found simply by making eye contact. Blinded at a young age, Kaito is unable to seek out and find his soulmate, and is resigned to never knowing if he even had one in the first place. Shinichi, on the other hand, knows full well that his soulmate is out there, somewhere, waiting for him. Neither knows the other is their one and only, not until long after they've meet. </p><p>Kaito and Shinichi each independently begin to take on the dark organization that has put them in their precarious position. One blinded and one younger than his mind would reveal, they circle each other.</p><p>Written for Kaishin Big Bang 2020.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Kudou Shinichi | Edogawa Conan/Kuroba Kaito | Kaitou Kid</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>14</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>134</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Collections:</b></td><td>kaishinbigbang 2020</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Chapter 1</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>For <a href="https://ota-chan.tumblr.com/post/625486825723756544/here-is-my-half-of-the-here-is-my-half-of-the"> Ota-chan </a>. Make sure to show their artwork some love. All art will be linked in the notes at the end of the chapter is it shown. Thank you, Ota-chan - without your initial prompt and amazing feedback and support, this story would not exist. </p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    
<p></p><div class="center">
  <p>
  <br/>
</p>
</div><p>Shinichi had had been a long, fun day with Ran solving his father’s puzzle. The ending had been slightly disappointing, but Ran and him had eventually given up on waiting for this mystery man to show up and headed to the park nearby to play for the last few hours of daylight left. Ran had headed home a few minutes ago, and Shinichi should be heading home before it got too dark and his mother got overdramatic about how worried she was for him. He was, yes, <i>6</i>, but they both knew he was a lot smarter than other 6-year olds. However, something kept him in the park. So, there he stayed, swaying in a forlorn manner on the swings, watching the fading light of dusk creep up the side of the buildings around the park.</p>
<p>Feeling silly, Shinichi rose and dusted off his smart trousers. Stretching, he noticed movement out of the corner of his eye – 3 individuals, 2 parents are their presumed child. Something about the man seemed oddly familiar. He crept closer, peering at them from behind a tree. He tried to keep his focus on the man, but something in his core draw his gaze to the young boy, around his age with wild hair and a loud demeanor.</p>
<p>He wasn’t sure why until the boy turned and he saw a glimpse of his eyes. </p>
<p>Shinichi turned around and slid down the stump, tucking his knees under his chin and wrapping his arms around them. He was baffled. Flummoxed. He’d never heard of someone whose eyes glowed, let alone seen them. What kind of…. creature was this? He peeked back around and found that, to his disappointment, the people were gone. With a quick check of his wristwatch and a not very age appropriate curse, he headed home.</p>
<p>Now <i>this</i> was a mystery worth solving.</p>
<p>His first thought was to talk to his parents. This was quickly dismissed. His father would just make it into a ‘learning moment’ or act surprised he didn’t know it already. Worse, his mother would somehow add this mystery into her fawning over him somehow. He wouldn’t have it – she embarrassed him far enough as it was. The next thought was much more logical: books.</p>
<p>This was obviously an ocular phenomenon, perhaps only visible at night or even just around dusk, Shinichi theorized. He cracked open the encyclopedia that contained the ‘O’ words, hopeful it would be under ‘ocular’ and not the derivative ‘eye’. A diagram of the eye was shown, labelling the various layers; next to it was a drawn rendering of an eye with a glow seemingly photoshopped onto it. Bingo.</p>
<p>Smugly, Shinichi sat down to read, worming his way down into the familiar cushion of the library’s armchair. The expression was quickly wiped from his face, and he found himself at a loss for words. He knew he was prone to being… unaware of somethings, Shinichi admitted to himself. Things that didn’t matter, you know? Like his birthday. But this concept – <i>soulmates</i> – was something he was sure he would’ve remembered.</p>
<p>Shinichi sat back, allowing the book to flop open on his knees.</p>
<p>So, that boy was his soulmate.</p>
<p>There was a strange lightness to the thought, and he felt strangely giddy. However, he could feel the rational side of him growing increasingly agitated. How was it fair that he was stuck to someone he didn’t know and didn’t have a choice in for the rest of his life? He barely saw the boy in the dim light of dusk, which gave him the inane thought of trying to ID the boy in a lineup at the police station. According to the book, his eyes would light up in a symbolic way, which was vague – another unfair thing.</p>
<p>“Shin-chan?”</p>
<p>Shinichi perked up at his mother’s voice. It never went well when she saw him in a ‘mood’, so he tried to play it off as simple tiredness, and not the weight of this new knowledge on his 6-year-old conscious. </p>
<p>“Yes, mother?”</p>
<p>“Try not to stay up too late.” His mother finished, the statement nearly a question. Damn she was hard to fool. He’d have to work on his acting, which probably meant ask his mother for help. “Try to save the coffee for when you need it,” she winked at him with a smile, leaving him to his thoughts.</p>
<p>Shinichi found the topic of soulmates to be strangely foreign, both warming his heard and making him feel uneasy with the implications behind it surrounding fate and free will. Shinichi mentally shrugged. And then, as he was alone in the library, physically shrugged. He has Ran. He has his parents. He has soccer. And, most importantly, he has a while to think about the concept of a <i>soulmate</i> before it matters. </p>
<p>After all, he’s run into his soulmate one time, even if just barely in passing. There’s no reason to think it won’t happen again.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Chapter 2</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Kaito was excited.</p>
<p>His father had a quote unquote “special” show tonight. Kaito was hoping that his father was going to let him be an assistant within during said show, as he had been practicing his sleight of hand and, more importantly, his showmanship. He asked his mother as much, and she responded.</p>
<p>“Huh? Oh, I’m not sure if that’s going to happen during this show. You’re not even 10 yet, dear, and your father and I want to keep you out of such things.” She seemed distracted, her eyes glancing out the window of the bus, but not actually seeing. Her smile seemed unnatural, and Kaito put on a pout at her, hoping she’d tell him what was going on.<br/>
“Oh, Kaito. One day you’ll be an amazing magician, and everyone will love you as much as your father and I do.” She planted a wet kiss on his forehead as he attempted to squirm out of it. He was still trying to wipe off the lipstick left behind when they arrived at their stop.</p>
<p>Chikage’s distracted demeanor went to the back of his mind as they approached the backstage of the venue his father was working at tonight. Sure, Kaito loved being in the audience, wowed by the performers on stage and trying his best to guess how a trick had been done. There was something, however, to be said about being backstage. The racks of costumes, the general rush of people attempting to put on makeup or fix a broken seam, or to nail the delivery of a line, all within the nick of time. Kaito had found that there was magic in the moments leading up to a performance where Murphy’s Law took full effect, and all of the people behind the curtain still somehow pulled it off. It wasn’t about them; it wasn’t even about the performance – it was about the audience.</p>
<p>The show <i>must</i> go on.</p>
<p>Kaito smiled at some familiar faces, Chikage dragging him behind her in search of Toichi. The hubbub dies down as they retreat from the heavily populated areas. They find Toichi pacing in a back corridor, wearing an outfit Kaito had never seen him in. His father usually preferred black, brown, and the occasional blue suit. If anything, the suit fit his father better than any of the others – the color just felt right for him.</p>
<p>Toichi hung up the phone upon seeing his mother, and they embraced. Kaito looked back and forth between his parents, his suspicions from earlier rearing their head again.</p>
<p>“What’s going on?” He had thought about injecting some humor but standing in this empty hallway with his parents embracing like they hadn’t thought they’d be able to again was kind of freaking him out. Okay, maybe it was <i>definitely</i> freaking him out.</p>
<p>His father gets down to his level, looking him in the eye. “Kaito, this is very important. I didn’t call you both here to see my show. I’m sorry. <i>They</i> found out who I am, and I needed to get to you before they did.”</p>
<p>Kaito gaped. There was a ‘They’? A ‘They’ that was after them? Kaito certainly hadn’t done anything that would need retribution unless you counted Aoko as a ‘they’. “They?” he croaked.</p>
<p>“I’m sorry, Kaito, there’s not much time to talk. Chikage, my love…” They shared an intense look, a silent conversation. “I’ve got people on their way to pick us up. If there’s one good thing out of all of this, it’s this.” He procured from some deep recess in his suit a bland looking gem.</p>
<p>There was a sharp intake of breath from his mother, “Is that …?”</p>
<p>“Yes, it’s Pandora.”</p>
<p>Kaito’s head was spinning. He felt like he was experiencing some form of emotional whiplash, from giddy and excited to feeling like his whole life was about to change. He leaned into his father as they had a terse whisper conversation centered around the future. Kaito’s future.</p>
<p>“Well, looky here, Snake. Looks like we found our lost dove.”</p>
<p>His parents stopped talking immediately, and Kaito found himself roughly pushed behind his mother as they faced the man who spoke. He was not alone. Both men wore all black. Both men had <i>guns</i>. Kaito tried to fight the adrenaline coursing through his body like his parents had shown him, but he still found himself shaking.</p>
<p>“Well, hello gentlemen. It seems you got lost on your way to the show. You see, you’ll have to turn around and take a left –“ his father began, the full brunt of his showmanship being brought to head.</p>
<p>A bullet hit the wall near him, and there was silence in the echo of the shot. His father’s face went hard and empty.</p>
<p>“What do you want?”</p>
<p>“I think you know what we want, Kaitou-san. Uh-uh, no funny business. Against the wall.” The man with the handlebar moustache replied, interrupting Toichi from reaching into his suit.</p>
<p>Toichi acquiesced, moving to the wall furthest from Chikage, eyes trained on the man that had just spoken, even as his accomplice came over to the wall and searched him. Trinkets and tools of all varieties were dumped on the floor: cards, wire, smoke bombs, even a lollipop. Finally, the gem from earlier was brought out and held aloft. Pandora.</p>
<p>The accomplice shoved his father into the wall, and the mustachioed man came over to them both. He looked at Toichi for a moment before punching him in the face. Chikage cried out, and Kaito curled into her, trying to formulate something – anything! – to stop this current stuation.</p>
<p>“That was for all the trouble you’ve caused us.”</p>
<p>Toichi maintained his poker face even as he spit out some blood. Kaito’s father pressed himself against the wall, the only sign of weakness from the brief assault. Snake and his accomplice removed themselves from his immediate vicinity and brought their guns to bear on him. Chikage took his hand and began to move them towards the men, motioning for him to cover his ears. Afraid, confused, yet adaptable, Kaito did as he was told.</p>
<p>“Any last words, thief?”</p>
<p>The wall immediately behind his father explodes, dust and debris falling everywhere. Kaito quickly loses his mother in his disorientation. Time seems to slow down as he sees the gem arc in front of his face a few feet out. Did his mother just roundhouse kick that armed man? Kaito’s eyes refocus beyond the gem in this scant moment to see the other man with his gun pointed right at him.</p>
<p>The next thing Kaito knew was pain as the bullet hit the gem and ricocheted off of it. Happy as he was to not get shot in the head, Kaito felt the slivers of shattered gemstones slice into his body, his face, his eyes. The next moment he heard something travel through the air before a meaty thump.</p>
<p>Then there was silence.</p>
<p>There was a small hesitation until Chikage was running over to him. A cloth was pressed to his face as she began to triage his wounds, both of them shaken and hurt. Kaito could hear the hitch in her voice as she spoke to emergency services. As soon as the call ended, she was attempting to clear his face of blood. Kaito found it to be strangely without pain.</p>
<p>“Kaito, can you open your eyes?”</p>
<p>“I think something got into them. Is dad… ?”</p>
<p>“Honey, we need to assess you first. Can you open your eyes?”</p>
<p>Kaito opened his eyes and found the world so much clearer, crystalline and bright. There is a sense of hysterical euphoria that only just dampens the quickly growing pain near the back of his skull. His eyes flicker around the room, taking in <i>everything</i>, the grain texture of the exposed metal ducts, the still floating motes of dust, even the turbulent eddies dissipating in the flow of the room. His vision landed on his mother’s face, and he finds that this is all too much, and the world begins to blur into swatches of colors and light. He smelled something sweet – like almonds, or toast, and now could not seem to unclamp his jaw. When it had shut, another mystery for another time. He senses tremors traveling down his now tense limbs, and then nothing at all.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>As always, thanks for reading!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Chapter 3</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Kaito flops on the bed. His days had been going by quickly since they figured out that <i>opening his eyes</i> was the cause of his clonic tonic seizures and that, no, there didn’t seem to be a cure for whatever was afflicting him. He’d been seen by the hospital he was brought to originally after the first seizure and seen again by a doctor friend of his mother. He’d told the latter that he had felt the slivers of gem embed themselves into his eyes and face, but they couldn’t find any entry wounds or even a foreign body in any scans.</p><p>A week ago, he was told that the best course of action to save his brain was to not open his eyes. Hot tears had streaked down his face, all the worse for bringing attention back to his cursed eyes. His father was still missing – <i>not dead</i> – and his mother was often on the phone or attending meetings for who knows what. It’s not as though Kaito knew anything about either of his parents Kaito thought heatedly, his face tensing.</p><p>This last week, admittedly, had been interesting. Chikage had begun shuttling him to a new type of appointment, from trying to fix his eyes to now adjusting him to his new normal. There was a surprising number of tools to navigate the world without your eyes. It wasn’t the same – just yesterday he had attempted to flop onto his bed only to hit his head on the headboard and immediately tumbled onto the floor. Regardless, he proudly wore the bruises on his shins from his exploration attempts. Kaito was nothing if not adaptable – he wanted his father to be proud of him, wherever he was.</p><p>Kaito clenched his fists and then relaxed. He’d have to get ready to see Aoko soon. They hadn’t talked since that first tearful reunion at the hospital. And it would allow him to cheer them both up with some magic. Eyes or no eyes he could still do quite a few sleight of hand tricks. Card tricks were, well, slower. Kaito found that he had to rely on his hands to remember the position of a card. He tried to tell himself it was a good skill to have, despite the melancholic reason behind it.</p><p><i>This sucks.</i> Kaito thought. He may have been keeping a brave face on for his mother, for himself even, but at the end of the day, Kaito continued to feel alone.</p><p>Kaito jumped up and gathered his things. Hand swaying in front of him where he knew the door to be, he found his cane, and set off.</p><p>This wasn’t his first journey to the midway between their houses. He had walked it the last two days to ensure that he wouldn’t be late to today’s meeting.  He hasn’t seen her in 2 weeks since the hospital, and he missed her. She was his best friend, and he wanted to make her happy. Selfishly, he knew that he would be happy as long as she was. Having traversed this path many times previously, the largest fear came from crossing the street. Even with the chirping of the crosswalk, it was an uneasy feeling to cross a street literally blind. </p><p>He begins to near the spot and is glomped by another person. Lovely, wonderful Aoko. Kaito holds her tightly, cane held loosely in his hand.</p><p>“Aoko missed you, Kaito!” Something inside of him unfurls then, and he takes a step away from her to pop a rose out of his sleeve for her. It’s fresh and pink (according to his mother). Aoko claps in delight, and Kaito’s <i>very</i> debonair, razor sharp smile softens into something more real.</p><p>They both take a seat on the bench, Kaito enjoying the nice weather and Aoko fiddling with the flower. Their conversations had never felt this awkward before, and Kaito doesn’t feel the need to break the silence anyways. He can tell by her furtive movements and aborted words that she doesn’t feel the same. Kaito sighs. <i>Such is li-</i></p><p>“Let’s go play ball!” Aoko pronounces it more like a demand than any form of question or request. Kaito makes to say something – what, he’s not sure – but is quickly interrupted, “Aoko will catch and you can kick. When you’re ready, Aoko will kick.”</p><p>Kaito put his head back and laughed, carefree and happy. His life had changed so drastically in the last month, but Aoko was still as sweet as sugar, his best friend willing to accommodate him until he’d adjusted. Help him adjust, even.</p><p>“Why are you laughing at me, Baka-ito…” Aoko pouted, still pulling on his arm that did not lazily circle his cane.</p><p>“I’m just surprised you’d let me win, Ahoko-chan~” Kaito goaded Aoko.</p><p>Many, many soccer balls to the body, and one memorable shot to the face, and they collapsed onto the grass giggling. He might be bruised, but this is the most comfortable he’d felt in his body since he’d effectively lost his eyesight. He felt as normal as normal got for him. Shifting his head in the direction he could hear Aoko at, he put out his hand, pinkie extended.</p><p>Aoko curled her pinkie around his own.</p><p>“We’re always in this together.”</p><p>They walk back leisurely to her house – Aoko had mentioned a ‘surprise’ for Kaito. And Kaito, well, Kaito was actually excited for a good surprise for once. They arrive there arm in arm, Aoko loudly announcing their presence. Kaito, focused more on hearing alone now than on sight <i>and</i> hearing, winced.</p><p>“Uh, Aoko, I didn’t know you got a dog.” Kaito announced, the sound of paws on hardwood unmistakable.</p><p>Aoko giggled, “You’ve ruined the surprise – the dog is for you! Your mom and Aoko’s dad were able to get you Milly to help guide you around and be there for when Aoko can’t be.”</p><p>Kaito was floored. A part of him felt slighted by not being involved in the conversation, of being given another aid in navigating the world. A reminder.</p><p>Ginzo’s rough voice, very distinct from his daughter’s: “She’s had an owner before you, and she’s been trained to work for people with limited or no visual perception. “</p><p>Milly came up to him, sniffing his hand, and licked him. She cuddled up to his leg and headbutted his thigh, asking for more pets. Aoko latched onto his other side, hugging him like he didn’t need to breathe. Kaito felt his heart melting. Maybe he liked this surprise.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. Chapter 4</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    
<p></p><div class="center">
  <p>
  <br/>
</p>
</div><p>Shinichi had wanted to turn and face Ran, but found himself staring at the sky, Ran over him with worry on her face. Despite the mild head trauma, it wasn’t hard to put together that someone at the park had hopefully accidentally assaulted him. He turned his head and saw a young girl that looked eerily like Ran running over to a soccer ball. Figures it would be a soccer ball.</p>
<p>Shinichi got to his feet and brushed off the back of his jacket. He really hadn’t planned for this to be a physical activity day and was thus dressed in a sharp blazer with matching blue pants. A classic look, with a red bowtie to tie the look together. Ran, always one to come to the defense of a friend, was yelling passionately at another young man, presumably the one to have kicked the ball that knocked him over. The teen’s hands were up, and he seemingly wouldn’t look Ran in the eye, obvious even through his mirror-coated sunglasses. This, of course, only set Ran off more.</p>
<p>“Ran.”</p>
<p>She must have heard him but kept going with her rant about how he should watch where he was kicking things and that he didn’t own the park, or, even if he did own the park, it wasn’t very nice, and he should very much apologize for hurting her friend. The young girl holding the wayward soccer ball came up next to the guy and stood there gawking at Ran. Ran <i>was</i> quite a sight at this point, her care for Shinichi currently outweighing her usually polite demeanor.</p>
<p>“Ran!”</p>
<p>“What?” She rounded on Shinichi, bullheaded only cause she really, <i>really</i> cared about her friends. Shinichi was very glad to be her friend at this moment.</p>
<p>“I’m sure they’re both very sorry, if you’d give them a chance to say as much. And I’m also sure if you’d take a moment to consider this young man’s accessories, you’d find that he probably couldn’t see where he was kicking.”</p>
<p>“Oh.” Deflated almost instantly, the young Ran looks down at the cane and then back up to the glasses, flushing with embarrassment. “I’m so sorry! I – uh – didn’t see.” An awkward pause. “We were going to get some ice cream – want to come with? My treat.” Ran was absolutely red with embarrassment, but that wouldn’t stop her from rectifying any perceived slight.</p>
<p>The two teens looked at each other, differing reactions apparent on their faces. The girl, Aoko, seemed ready to jump to her own friend’s defense. Kaito, however, just laughed and quickly accepted the free treat. He <i>had</i> put too much power behind that kick, and the aim had been off. Kaito called his dog, Milly, to heel, and introductions were made. Ran received a yellow rose when introduced to Kaito. Shinichi received a bouquet of red roses, an apology for the accidentally soccer ball to the face.</p>
<p>Shinichi was appalled at the inevitable death of the flower, but even his feelings on the wastefulness of a flower detached from its roots couldn’t stop a blush from creeping up his face. Damn these hormones – puberty was proving an admirable foe in how quickly it could affect his mental faculties.</p>
<p>After acquiring ice cream, he inquired into the unique soccer setup Aoko and Kaito had been using. Chirps were placed on the center of the goal nets to help Kaito orient himself on the field. Impressively, Kaito was able to follow the rustle of the ball through the grass and Aoko’s own movements around the field. </p>
<p>“It’s actually not too bad once you’ve adapted to the setup.” Kaito explained. “Maybe not if you’re only blindfolded for the match. Aoko tried that once and broke her ankle!”</p>
<p>“Aoko only sprained her ankle.” Aoko added.</p>
<p>Ran was intrigued, her eyes shining: “Have you thought about doing any martial arts?”</p>
<p>Kaito went quiet for a second before responding in the affirmative. “I’ve done some blended martial arts. Karate, judo, a small amount of capoeira. My teacher encourages me to be centered in and at peace with my body. Easier to navigate and adjust on the fly – you never know when you’ll be left without an aid surrounded by unknown terrain.”</p>
<p>Ran’s eyes, if it was possible, shined brighter. “I’m practicing karate as well! I’m hopeful to join the Karate Club once we get to junior high.”</p>
<p>Shinichi added on, with a cheeky grin, “Yeah, she’s got a mean kick if you get on her bad side.”</p>
<p>Ran began sputtering and blushing when Kaito interjected with: “Well, Kudo-san, do you have any hobbies? You didn’t seem too upset by getting hit in the face with a soccer ball, so you must be, ah, familiar with the sensation, no?”</p>
<p>Shinichi laughed. “That exact sensation, definitely. Soccer is one of the few physical pursuits that I find mentally stimulating and worth my time. I’m very good at it.”</p>
<p>“You know, you talk a big game. Think you could actually play soccer blindfolded?” Shinichi found himself challenged, as Kaito leaned conspiratorially forward in his direction. Never one to back down from the challenge:</p>
<p>“You’re on.”</p>
<p></p><div class="center">
  <p>⠞⠺⠕ ⠓⠕⠥⠗⠎ ⠇⠁⠞⠑⠗</p>
</div><p>Shinichi had never had his ass so thoroughly handed to him. Five senses and to lose just one turned him seemingly into an uncoordinated fawn, new to the world and embarrassingly gangly. Maddeningly, before they had started, Shinichi had been so <i>damn</i> confident. Then Kaito had knocked him off his feet, left him blushing.</p>
<p>Kaito had whipped out a ridiculously soft silk scarf – a pretty violet that Aoko had assured Kaito matched his eyes – Shinichi had been ready to tie it on himself. Kaito had tutted, taking the scarf away from where he knew Shinichi stood.</p>
<p>
  <i>“I’ll do it myself – it’s only fair!”</i>
</p>
<p>Shinichi still blushed at memory of the silk going onto his eyes, and at the extravagantly wrapped bow he’d tied the scarf into at the back of Shinichi’s head. The blush was short lived as remembered how trounced he had been at his best sport, and he allowed himself another moment to seethe.</p>
<p>How in the hell had Kuroba-san… Kaito – how in the hell had Kaito gotten so far under his skin so quickly?<br/>
Shinichi idly fiddled with the bow in his hands, passively listening to Ran as she enthused about their upcoming school exams. Stressful as they were, they were the last barrier between them and high school.</p>
<p>He couldn’t shake the feeling that this person, Kaito, was somehow special. Illogical, and that much easier to ignore. For now.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0005"><h2>5. Chapter 5</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Shinichi stared at the screen before him, brain cogs turning at an alarming pace. The two empty cups and one cold cup of coffee next to him attested to the effort being put forth.</p>
<p>When Ran had offhandedly mentioned, and Sonoko had cajoled, about a rising online chess player in the Tokyo area. <i>Red Herring</i>’s match record started off somewhat rocky, with losses and nonsensical plays aplenty. Strategy quickly crept in, and this player had leaped up the leader boards seemingly playing at random hours of the day, but for long stretches of time. What first was quiet murmurs on the forums turned into clamoring fans and followers wanting to know: who was <i>Red Herring</i>? Red Herring did not respond to messages but did accept most invites to play games. furthering the mysterious nature of this player.</p>
<p>Shinichi had been, rightfully, skeptical. He preferred saving his competitive side for the physical exertion afforded by playing soccer. However, he was intrigued (and admittedly, rankled by Sonoko’s comments that he would be unable to rise through the score boards at the same pace). </p>
<p>Shinichi had set aside a Friday night to create a login and begin playing. The first few matches gave his placement an admittedly respectable start, and he did find himself enjoying the challenge of thinking steps ahead, trying to find the best possible solutions in each scenario. Of course, he knew the basic rules and common moves in chess – he was an aspiring detective after all. Such knowledge fell in the normal lexicon a detective may need to call upon. But amateurs the world over are bound to play unique and unpredictable hands.</p>
<p>Nearing the end of the night, he found his resolve flagging. He had made it up to the top 500 in Tokyo and was fine to put aside this asinine request for some much-needed sleep. He cracked his back and paused.</p>
<p>One more match.</p>
<p>And what a decision. Red Herring himself. The man, the myth, the legend. Shinichi grinned, and Red Herring took the first move. 20 minutes later, and Shinichi had his first loss of the night. He was shocked with the speed of the win, and how badly he had underestimated his opponent. Jaw clicking shut, he quickly sent off a request for a rematch. Red Herring obliged.</p>
<p>The night wore on, and a gathering of coffee cups occurred on his table. Shinichi had managed to capture some wins, but they found themselves nearly evenly matched. Fascinated, Shinichi tried a different strategy.</p>
<p>The online board began clearing of pieces until there were few. Shinchi and Red Herring began a cat and mouse game, neither willing to press the draw button despite this game clearly being over.</p>
<p>Red Herring: <i>Do you think one of us will be able to win?</i></p>
<p>Sherlock’s Apprentice: <i>The outcome is clear. Who are you?</i></p>
<p>Red Herring: <i>Just a magician looking for magic.</i></p>
<p>Red Herring: <i>Thank you for the games tonight. This was fun.</i></p>
<p>Sherlock’s Apprentice: <i>Will you play me again? Maybe at a later date?</i></p>
<p>Red Herring: <i>Your name implies you’d like to be a detective. How about a riddle?</i></p>
<p>Sherlock’s Apprentice: <i>A… riddle? What about?</i></p>
<p>Red Herring: <i>If you can solve it, everything will be clear. [   ]</i></p>
<p>Red Herring: [File attached]</p>
<p>
  <i>Red Herring has disconnected.</i>
</p>
<p>Shinichi stared at the screen, trying to find meaning in the words from Red Herring. The attached message was four lines of text, alluding to rocks, four days less than a year, and other flowery concepts. This ‘riddle’ seemed more to be poetry to Shinichi’s sleep deprived mind. Shinichi was, admittedly, annoyed. He didn’t know why, exactly, as he did have a very comfy placement on the local leaderboards for Tokyo to rub in Sonoko’s face. <i>15 and top 500 in Tokyo!</i> He smugly thought.</p>
<p>No, he was annoyed by Red Herring himself and his abstract riddle instead of his straight answers. Shinichi just couldn’t shake the feeling that there was something important here. This feeling was frightening familiar and shamefully elusive – one of his best skills was failing him! Then again, he was a few cups of coffee deep. Shinichi dragged his suddenly much heavier eyes over to the clock and found that he would be able to get in two and a half hours of sleep before his scheduled meeting with Ran for her tournament. That should be sufficient.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0006"><h2>6. Chapter 6</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>I do not know how to play Go. It may be obvious.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Kaito tapped three keys in quick succession, and the file began to download. He woke up his phone and a soft voice told him it was almost time. <i>All according to plan</i>, he gleefully thought, pushing up his imaginary glasses for an audience of only himself. Ekoda High School <i>really</i> needed to up their cyber security. </p>
<p>15 minutes later, his phone was abuzz with a deluge of incoming texts. The vast, <i>vast</i> majority were from Aoko, but there were a few from Hakuba and, surprisingly, Akako. <i>How did her contact even get into my phone?</i> Kaito, puzzled, thought to himself. Regardless, his glee at the incoming responses to the chaos he had wrought to the PA system of Ekoda High School continued to grow with each message.</p>
<p>They quickly turned to terror.</p>
<p>Aoko had turned from righteously furious to scarily precise in her language. The language lovingly being read out by his phone to him.</p>
<p>
  <i>Water. Scales. Gills. Cold. Wet. Blub. Blub. FISH!!</i>
</p>
<p>Kaito shuddered, wildly tapping his phone to get it to stop spewing such horribly evocative words. Really, it was less than he expected, though Aoko was sure to think of something worse with more time. This had been the latest development in an escalating prank war between Aoko and him. It had started innocently enough, but, well, neither of them knew how to back down, no matter how many casualties got caught in the crossfire. Hakuba was <i>still</i> finding glitter, even in clothes he hadn’t worn in months!</p>
<p>Kaito smirk turned soft – he was happy to have something so innocent to keep him feeling like the sixteen-year-old he was. His other work sometimes got a little too hot, and he’d have to back off. Nothing like almost being IP traced back to his home address to get him to lay low for a few weeks.</p>
<p>The hacking had been something he’d picked up after getting deep into Raspberry Pi and other neat automation tools to see if he could make his life easier. The hacking, well, the hacking had come slowly. He had started with simple things like his most recent prank, but as he got better, he realized that this could be it – the answer to what he was going to do about his father’s disappearance.</p>
<p>The first clue he had found was related to the gemstone. Looking into any gems that had been bought or traded hands recently. He had had a small shock when he found the gemstone matching the description of the one he saw that night as <i>stolen</i>. From there, it was a matter of finding out who else was interested in the gem and the man who had stolen it – his father, the Phantom Thief.</p>
<p>His most recent find was a conglomerate called the Karasuma Group. Other companies had bland descriptions of what they did and clear lines of contact – the Karasuma Group, however, was unhelpfully unclear about what exactly it was that they did. Kaito had only been able to glean that they were into some form of biochemical pharmaceutical research before he detected the reverse hack. Honestly, he wasn’t even sure of that information. There cybersecurity was insane, and he was worried about what he might be bringing down onto his mother. He needed to practice, to not worry about getting caught. This research had given him more than an inkling of information about what – who – his mother and father were previously, and he didn’t want to bring danger back into his mother’s life. </p>
<p><i>Sigh.</i> Maybe not tonight. Why ruin such a good day with worrying about getting himself and his mother killed? That sounded like a Saturday activity to him!</p>
<p>Kaito launched his most recent game and was happy to see a few game requests. Not as many as his overflowing chess account, and he was <i>very</i> happy about that. Chess had gotten boring after a little while, and he loved the adventure of learning something new. Not that he’d ever tell the stuck-up detective Hakuba that.</p>
<p><i>Go</i>. Similar to chess in aesthetics, but very different in the story of the game. One was the battle over an army, the other a battle over a country. The stones of <i>Go</i> danced around each other until capture. Or, for those in the upper leagues, the game had already been played out in their minds eye. Kaito was good at using his mind’s eye considering, well. Considering he has to be good at it. </p>
<p>A few games in, Kaito gets an interesting game request. It’s from Sherlock’s Apprentice, that funny chess guy.</p>
<p>Sherlock’s Apprentice: <i>?</i></p>
<p><i>A-ha!</i> Kaito thought. His little lark had finally found him. Kaito wasn’t one to give up the goat so quickly – he was going to make his little friend work for this.</p>
<p>It <i>only</i> took three games for Sherlock’s Apprentice to begin using illogical Go moves. Kaito was curious to see what it was that he was spelling out with the Go stones. To his growing horror, the Go stones began to shape into the word that even in his mind’s eye spelled out a word of terror. </p>
<p>
  <i>Fish (魚).</i>
</p>
<p>Kaito realized, far too late that he should not have jokingly taken on the pseudonym <i>Red Herring</i>. The English phrase had connotations that served him well online, and he had been willing to overlook the… fish-related part of it. A grave mistake, clearly, even if his new username was decidedly less fishy.</p>
<p>Nom de Plume: <i>Okay, okay, you win! Yes, you’ve caught me.</i></p>
<p>Nom de Plume: <i>Your name fits you, tantei-kun~!</i></p>
<p>Sherlock’s Apprentice: <i>I’m not one to deny a challenge – call me competitive, but it’s rare to find someone so vexingly smart. And riddles, who does those?</i></p>
<p>Nom de Plume: <i>^o^ _/</i></p>
<p>Kaito sent this Sherlock’s Apprentice his number. Maybe he was being a little forward with his personal information, but something in his gut was feeling marvelously trusting. Maybe it was all the secrecy related to his other work on the Karasuma Group, maybe it was just the loneliness he felt during the daytime when his normal gang were at school. Maybe, just this once, Kaito was going to let himself be dumb and genuine. </p>
<p>Regardless, Kaito was happy to find himself with a new, mysterious friend. Maybe they’d be up for helping out with his prank war…?</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0007"><h2>7. Chapter 7</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Shinichi – Conan now, damn the Black Org – squinted up churlishly at the man gripped tightly in Heiji’s hands. Heiji had dragged him over saying how he was suspiciously stumbling about with a long stick and hadn’t, somehow, seen the suspect that had fled in that direction. <i>Suspicious, Kudou!</i> he’d hissed, not very discretely.</p>
<p>Shinichi had clocked the teenager as the blind young man he’d once played soccer with – Kaito something or other. In his past life. In his real life.</p>
<p>“Hello, sir! My name is Conan. I’m sorry about my friend here. Heiji is a <i>bit too enthusiastic.</i>” He ground out in the most childish voice he could muster, still dripping with sarcasm. “Maybe Heiji-niichan should let you go now, ne?”</p>
<p>Heiji, shivering head to toe, hopped away from Kaito like he’d seen a ghost. Kaito gratefully rubbed his arm, quizzically tilting his head downward. Uneasily, Shinichi realized that all of Heiji’s chatter had given Kaito the expectation of another adult. Well, at least one adult. Shinichi winced internally – it’d been months, when would he stop cringing at the situation he found himself in?</p>
<p>“So, uh, what’s going on? Why all the kidnapping and hostility around here?” Kaito tried to joke in askance.</p>
<p>“Well, there’s been a murder.” Shinichi dead panned. “Our suspect fled in the direction Heiji and you came from. As for Heiji-niichan, he brought you because…?”</p>
<p>“Wha- Ku-Conan-kun! This guy was stumbling about with blood all over him – the height of suspicion!”</p>
<p>Kaito blanched at the mention of blood. Obviously, he didn’t know.</p>
<p>“Woah, woah – I was just looking for my dog. Some person – your suspect? – ran right into me, and my dog took off after them. This is a new neighborhood to me, so I might have run into a light post or 2 in my haste to catch her.” Kaito quickly elaborated.</p>
<p>“More like six…” Heiji muttered under her breath. Kaito stuck out his tongue in Heiji’s direction, and Heiji responded in like. How Kaito was supposed to know that Heiji’s tongue was out was anyone’s guess. <i>How am I the only adult here</i>, Shinichi bemoaned.</p>
<p>Then, Milly returned. At least, Shinichi assumed it was Milly, owing to the harness and the odious amount of blood on the yellow lab. Her tail was wagging, and, as she came up, Shinichi spotted something in her mouth. Shinichi gently grabbed the something – a piece of blood cloth – and alerted the two idiots to the presence of the dog. More so for Kaito, but they were both distracted with their childish squabbling. You’d think they’d known each other for years.</p>
<p>Shinichi and Heiji studied the scrap of blood cloth while Kaito soothed the somewhat frazzled Milly.</p>
<p>“I know exactly where to look. Come on!” Shinichi said, running in the opposite direction the suspect had fled. Heiji awkwardly stumbled after him, attempting to direct Kaito and Milly along with him.</p>

<p></p><div class="center">
  <p>⠇⠁⠞⠑⠗</p>
</div><p>The insignia on the scrap of cloth had led directly to the establish the suspect worked at. The suspect had shown back up for the rest of their shift minutes after the detectives showed up. <i>Case Closed.</i></p>
<p>Kaito was bashfully accepting a medal for Milly as an honorary canine detective, hand scratching the back of his neck, when Shinichi and Heiji were finally able to extract themselves from some other detectives taking their statements. Shinichi admitted that he wasn’t the fondest of most animals, but Milly was very well trained, and, well, her handler was handsome. Shinichi might be stuck in the body of himself as a six-year-old, but he had eyes.</p>
<p>“So, Kudou-kun, was this related to the Black Org? Or another dead end?” Heiji started.</p>
<p>“I’m still not sure about that. The suspect, no. But the aura… I felt the dreadful aura of the Black Org. Maybe whoever was involved. I didn’t see anyone suspicious.” Shinichi continued.</p>
<p>“’Cept that Kuroba guy…” Heiji muttered.</p>
<p>Shinichi sent him a poisonous look. Beyond Heiji, Kuroba was one of the only other people here he actually trusted. Shinichi was more concerned with the fact that he wasn’t concerned about trusting Kaito than the fact that he trusted Kaito. Complicated feelings? Shinichi shoved them into a bottle and threw them in the ‘later’ pile. The Black Org took precedence. </p>
<p>“What about me?” Kaito interrupted, Milly curling around his left leg in a guiding motion. “Also, what’s this I hear about – ,“ here he lowered his voice, “ – the Black Org?”</p>
<p>Heiji cursed, “Black Org? Never heard of it! Is it that new rotating sushi place? Kudou-kun, you and I should go sometime, huh, little buddy!” Heiji overdid it, again.</p>
<p>“What Heiji means to say is that this is not a conversation one haves in public. It’s barely a conversation one has if they want to continue living a normal life. Does that make sense to you, Kuroba-san? Do you <i>understand</i> what you’re asking us?” Kudou cut through the bullshit. Kaito needed to either stop mentioning anything to do with the Black Org entirely or be brought into the fold. </p>
<p>Heiji turned to him, slackjawed. “Kudou-kun, wha….”</p>
<p>Shinichi stared up at Kaito, who tilted his head down, the facsimile of a returned stare.</p>
<p>“If I’m right, Conan-kun… Kudou-kun? I’m already involved. I like my chances better with others more so than alone. I understand what I’m asking. Where do we need to… talk?”</p>
<p>“I can text you an address, Kaito-san. Will you give me your … ?” Shinichi held out his phone for Kaito to take and enter his number.</p>
<p>“My what?” A pause. “Are you holding your phone out to me, detective-san? I do hope you haven’t already forgotten that I’m blind,” Kaito teased.</p>
<p>Blushing, Shinichi drew his hand back. “Of- of course not. Then, just tell me?”</p>
<p>Shinichi began adding in the numbers that fell easily out of Kaito’s mouth. At the last digit, an existing contact came up – Red Herring-san. Shinichi sputtered. Today was not a good day for his composure. Shinichi felt the déjà vu of feeling off step around Kaito. He trusted Kaito, but somehow felt uneasy around him. Butterflies in his stomach – a novel, annoying feeling. Nice, but distracting.</p>
<p>“You’re Red Herring-san?” Conan asked smoothly. </p>
<p>“How - ? Oh! A detective, you must be my tantei-kun!” Kaito replied, allowing his excitement to show through his voice and posture. Heiji mouthed, ‘<i>My tantei-kun,</i>’ silently, somewhat horrified.</p>
<p>“You two know each other?”</p>
<p>Shinichi found a hand patting his hair before he was unceremoniously snatched up in the arms of Kaito. “Know him? This kid beat me in chess, Go, Mahjong, <i>and</i> Janken! You’ll have to take his word on that last one, though.”</p>
<p>Shinichi, abhorring the feeling of being held like a child, still felt a smile blooming on his face. Huh. How many times had he run into Kaito? Maybe this was fate. The responding grin – shark-like, but happy – on Kaito’s face told him that maybe it would be good for them to work together. For the first time in a long time, Shinichi thought that maybe things would finally start to work out for them.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0008"><h2>8. Chapter 8</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Ai stared him down from across the professor’s living room. For even such a young woman – 6 or 19 regardless – her glare was able to pierce the very veil of sight to make itself known, and Kaito was suffering under the full brunt of her stare, Milly dutifully tucked against the side of his legs, her head gently lying on his knee and leg.</p>
<p>The afternoon had been going well, really! Shinichi had invited him over to the professor’s house to discuss what Kaito knew and to discuss what they themselves knew to see if this was worth bringing the FBI in on. Milly had been more than happy to lead him around the new area, and the walk from the train station had tuckered her out. The professor had brought out tea and some taiyaki that he had created using one of his inventions. Kaito had enjoyed the slightly burnt taiyaki and was in the middle of asking for seconds when he felt her enter the room, which dropped noticeably in temperature. Shinichi, who had been beside him, happily chatting and enjoying his own taiyaki had audibly gulped, choking down his food. </p>
<p>“Oh, Ai-chan, you’re he-,“ Shinichi was able to get out, before Ai gave him deadpan stare.</p>
<p>Silence.</p>
<p>“<i>Conan</i>-kun, Professor, could you give Kuroba-niisan and I a moment alone?” Her highly pitched, derisive voice softly demanded.</p>
<p>And so Kaito was alone with Ai, the girl who was a lady, the shrewd, genius scientist and one of Shinichi’s confidants. The taste of taiyaki was forlorn, and Kaito suddenly wished he had arrived slightly more prepared for this encounter – wishful thinking, he knew, as this was always going to be a rough encounter. He fiddled with Milly’s ear, and she dutifully turned her head to give him better access for the scritches and scratches she so loved.</p>
<p>“What are your intentions with Shinichi?”</p>
<p>Kaito maintained his poker face, internally he was floored. He was getting the hot seat because she thought he was going to – <i>what?</i> – corrupt her friend? Kaito took a moment to answer before speaking, smoothing out the tousled hair on Milly’s head.</p>
<p>“We have met before, more than once, and he intrigues me. The fact that he may bring justice for my family and that I may help him reach his own justice isn’t enough for me to be here?”</p>
<p>“He’s quite young.”</p>
<p>“He won’t always be – from what he’s told me, you’re the one that holds the key to bringing him back. And if we can set up a plan, then perhaps you’ll be that much closer to making it a reality.” Kaito really was trying to be honest, both with her and with himself. His mind was only concerned with the pragmatic nature of their relationship in the short-term – working together brought them closer to the end of the so-called Black Org. His heart, on the other hand, was <i>very</i> keenly focused on the completion of the drug research, and in the possibility of having Shinichi back at a comparable age to his own. Whatever happened then – here, he plastered on a fake smile for Ai and successfully killed a blush in the making – would be up to them, and only them, without fear of the Black Org surfacing.</p>
<p>“My, my, Kuroba-san, looking so far into the future, and putting so much of the responsibility on my shoulders. This is the first time we’ve met. Do you trust me that much? Do you trust me that much <i>because of Shinichi’s trust in me</i>?” She questioned softly, almost quietly.</p>
<p>“Yes.” Kaito said, leaning forward to hear her better.</p>
<p>Cold, hard metal pressed to his forehead, and Kaito immediately recognized the shape as being the barrel of a gun. <i>What the f-</i> he began to think to himself.</p>
<p>“This isn’t a game, Kuroba-san. This isn’t going to end well, and no matter what happens, you’ll have to look over your shoulder for the rest of your life. Trusting me was a foolish thing to do, and now whatever you had for Shinichi has led you here, to your end.” Her ominous voice intoned, as though this was a matter of asking the time.</p>
<p>Kaito couldn’t help the small chill that went down his back. Ai had a way of making the room go cold, even after her normally chilly entrance. She hadn’t even made much noise getting up from her seated position! He leaned into the weapon on his forehead, still smiling softly at the girl – the woman – in front of him. He reached his hands up and cupped her own dainty hands as they unwaveringly held the gun.</p>
<p>“You see, Ai-san, I may indeed have something in the back of my mind that will never go away and will always be on the lookout for men wearing all black. But I do not intend to go it alone. Perhaps it won’t go well, but at least I can try to make it go well for someone.” Who, exactly, went unsaid.</p>
<p>Kaito smoothly – quickly – slid his finger to a small button on the cuirass of the gun and depressed it. With a small thunk, and a soft <i>ow</i> on his part, Ai yielded the gun fully to him. He raised the toy weapon, waving the small cloth – a flag, perhaps? – in a facsimile of surrender to Ai. </p>
<p>“Or maybe your ‘gun’ just doesn’t weigh enough to scare me.” He knocked it against his head lightly. “It’s wood. Besides, Milly likes you, and she’s a good judge of character.” Milly lifted her head to look up at Kaito, before resting it back on his knee once more with a soft sigh.</p>
<p>Ai sat back, nonplussed, her small weight resettling back onto the seat across from him.</p>
<p>“That’s the only warning you’ll get in this ‘game’, Kuroba-san.”</p>
<p>Kaito grimly nodded, before standing and stretching. He wanted more taiyaki, and they needed to discuss their options with everyone. Ai gave a small, muffled laugh.</p>
<p>“And Kuroba-san? Don’t hurt him. I trust you now only on the word of Shinichi.”</p>
<p>Kuroba <i>did</i> let his poker face drop at that, scowling at her retreating laugh as she herself got up to go and retrieve Agase and Shinichi. Shinichi and he were just friends! For now! Honestly, the nerve of her. Kaito hadn’t even gotten to see Shinichi as a teenager, and he was being threatened already.</p>
<p>Shinichi sidled back in, sitting on the couch next to him with a taiyaki in one hand and what Kaito was sure was his third coffee within the last hour in the other. Kaito signaled to Milly to take a break from her job duties of leading him around, and she jumped up between them, snuggling up with Shinichi and in the process pushing her paws roughly into Kaito’s stomach. Shinichi offered the taiyaki to him in a peace offering.</p>
<p>“You didn’t tell me she’d be that over-the-top, Shinichi.” Kaito pouted, though internally delighted at the offering. If his dog couldn’t be upset at the situation, how could he?</p>
<p>“It could have been much worse – she was, er, understandably upset when I told her that you knew about me. She demanded I get her a Dior bag to even let you come into the house. I’m pretty sure she only considered it because she thinks we’re soulmates.”</p>
<p>Kaito felt his heart stutter, and the flow of time felt as though it had thoroughly come to a stop, all passengers departing. The casual air in which Shinichi said it was easily dismissed by the waver Kaito could hear in his voice, in the shift of his seating position – Shinichi almost hadn’t even said it. But he had, and Kaito could only smile softly down in Milly’s direction.</p>
<p>Kaito appeared a red rose for Shinichi, holding it out but not forcing it on him. </p>
<p>“One step at a time, huh?” he asked, the question underneath it just a suggestion.</p>
<p>Shinichi took the rose, both of their hands holding onto the stem, and agreed: “One step at a time.”</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0009"><h2>9. Chapter 9</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“Take a few steps forward and then a left, ” Shinichi’s voice said through the earpiece.</p><p>Kaito paused, listening to the quiet from the hallway. He swung his stick to find the wall and started making his way left. They had about ten more minutes before it would become too suspicious for him to have just gone to the bathroom. </p><p>“There’s one more turn, then the room we’re looking for will be on the right, “ Shinichi’s comforting voice said through the earpiece. The tinted glasses he was wearing were feeding video back to Shinichi and the FBI so that they could keep a close eye on Kaito.</p><p>It’s not everyday you interview for a suspected shell corporation in league with the terrorist shadow organization known as the Black Organization.</p><p>The interview had been going well – Kaito was young for the job, but he knew his way around code like the back of his hand. He may not have seen the back of his hand for a few years, but the sentiment stood. His learned coding ability and his bumbling act as the blind high schooler who just wanted a job with the big, awesome Karasuma group was his main selling point. Shinichi had been adorably reluctant to send him in alone, but him as Conan wouldn’t have a reason to enter the building let alone be found wandering the halls.</p><p>Kaito arrived at the door and jiggled the handle. Moving the ear without the earpiece towards the door, he quickly unlocked it. Sympathetic to his watching audience, he did a sweep of the hall with his head and entered the room.</p><p>“The computer to your left should get you access to their internal networks. Enter the following password and username.” Shinichi provided the information, and Kaito dutifully entered it. He may not have his usual Braille keyboard, but eventually it’s all muscle memory once your fingers are on the keyboard.</p><p>“How’d you know the password so quickly, Tantei-kun?” Kaito idly asked, using his favorite nickname for the currently young detective.</p><p>“Someone left it written on a sticky note on the monitor.” Kaito could hear the smirk in Shinichi’s voice, and he answered it with one of his own, unseen.</p><p><i>Ah</i>, Kaito thought. <i>The cybersecurity person’s biggest enemy: the userbase</i>. Kaito quickly plugged in his screen reader and keylogger and began setting up a program that would connect the internal network with a transmitter to send the packaged data files out periodically. There would be five minutes before it would be up and running and they could test the connection with the first data packet. Five minutes Kaito may or may not have to spend.</p><p>At first plug-in, the program would quickly connect to the network and attempt a ping to the internal servers. Once successful, the program would begin compiling data, starting with folders most often accessed, which usually ended up being schedules, payroll, and other financial documents. The program had been modified to focus on alcohol related keywords along with any files related to key dates that the Black Org had been active.</p><p>Kaito leaned back and listened as the screen reader quietly, but rapidly, read out file directories throughout the scan. Just as the first data package was reaching its limit for what it could send, he heard something that made him pause.</p><p>
  <i>Prometheus Project</i>
</p><p>Kaito felt the hair on the back of his raise, and his hands shook slightly. Minimizing the program console, he navigated his way to that folder and opened the first document. Cranking up the speed on the screen reader, he was shocked to find that it was a story of a snake’s quest to find a crying girl. Even simplified into a child’s tale, Kaito could tell this was an encoded log of the organization’s attempt to find Pandora and how many of these were thwarted by a white dove. Kaito’s ears were ringing as he continued to listen, only snapping out of it at the sharp, “Kaito!” coming through the headset from Shinichi.</p><p>“Kaito – please, you have to hurry. The first data package arrived; you need to get back before they find you. Can you hear me?”</p><p>“Yeah, yeah, I hear you, Tantei-kun,” Kaito breathed out. He was actually really reluctant to leave the information he’d been seeking for the last eight years, but the hot panic in Shinichi’s voice had him clambering up to his feet.</p><p>A gun cocked and he froze. Looks like he was already too late.</p><p>“Turn around.” Male, somewhere in his forties, might or might not be a smoker. There was a small shift in the man’s stance from his left foot to his right foot.</p><p>Kaito turned around, planting a faux-confident smirk on his face. The glasses were snatched off his face, and he heard the crunch of their untimely destruction. In an attempt to stall, Kaito threw a punch in the general direction of the man’s voice earlier. Missing, he counterbalanced the weight of the swing and stepped to his left, avoiding something heavy in the man’s swinging arm. Even one more data packet sent could end the organization for good. He launched his body at the man, attempting to knock him off balance and gain control of whatever weapon he may hold. His attacker landed on his hurt left foot, and they tumbled to the floor.</p><p>He heard the gun skitter to a far corner of the room and internally cheered before another voice – younger and feminine – piped in: “You idiot, he’s blind!” Kaito was not fast enough to avoid the butt of her pistol against the back of his head, and he fell forward slowly, jostled as the man stood up.</p><p>The last thing he heard was Shinichi frantically switching between yelling at others in the background and trying to reassure Kaito that it was going to be alright, that he was coming to help.</p><p>Then nothing.</p>
<p></p><div class="center">
  <p>⠓⠕⠥⠗⠎ ⠇⠁⠞⠑⠗</p>
</div><p>The pounding in Kaito’s head, while frantic and painful, seemed to be the least of his worries. At least his heart was still working. His arms and legs were somehow tied – zip-tied? – to the legs of an uncomfortable chair. The last thing he remembered was Shinichi being really upset about something, which means that Kaito should probably be upset about something, too.</p><p>His attempts to keep his breathing and muscle tone failed quickly when a hand gently fed through his hair before yanking backward, forcing his neck taut. Hot, fetid breath on his ear almost broke his poker face, but he wasn’t going to give whoever it was the satisfaction.</p><p>“Nice of you to join us. I’m happy to tell you that your job application went through, and we’ve decided to hire you. Get to work.”</p><p>Before he could make a snarky remark about his arms being tied, sharp, bitter metal was between his left wrist and the zip-lock and suddenly that arm was free. He rubbed his wrists after both arms were free, grateful to have some semblance of control back. In front of him was a keyboard and monitor.</p><p>“I don’t remember seeing bondage in the job description, Mr. - ?” Kaito waited a moment. The man seemed uninterested with supplying him with a name, so he gave him one. “Mr. Knife. I’m afraid to tell you that I’m completely blind.” Kaito weakly shrugged his shoulders.</p><p>The so dubbed Mr. Knife whipped what felt like the butt of a gun against Kaito's head. The darkness of his eyelids went from blinding red to black and back again, and Kaito took a moment to compose himself before gritting his teeth together and smiling.</p><p>“We both know you can work your way around a computer, Kaito Kuroba. You’ve actually been on our radar for quite some time. You can choose to be an asset to the company, or you can choose to be dead. Whatever you think you were doing before doesn’t matter – your little friends won’t find you.” A rough hand guided his hand to the keyboard, and a single earbud was tapped crudely into his ear. Hotly, in the other ear. “Get to work.”</p><p>Kaito could barely think, but he was still able to tell this man wasn’t a programmer. There wasn’t one universal language – this wasn’t Esperanto! It would take time to get into the guts of the existing work before he could even attempt to figure out what the code was for let alone what needed to be done. From a technical standpoint, Kaito was like a cat rubbed the wrong way. From a practical standpoint, Kaito was probably concussed and needed all of the time he could get to stall until Shinichi came to get him.</p><p>He reached his hand out and began to adjust the settings on the screen reader to his liking and began to decipher the mystery project the Black Org was so desperate to finish.</p><p>Kaito also discretely began to probe the network he was on. Internal though it may be, it still had access to other resources, and Kaito would be damned to be some helpless prince in a castle waiting for Prince Charming. Like his father always said:</p><p>
  <i>The show must go on.</i>
</p><p></p><div class="center">
  <p>⠅⠁⠊⠎⠓⠊⠝</p>
</div><p>Kaito slammed keys on the keyboard, all discretion completely gone. Sweat was pouring down the back of his neck, and his ass was numb from the hours he’d been sat here. He was only partially sure no one was around to hear the cacophony of noise he was making, the keyboard his instrument – the main man that had been watching him, sniping at every little slow down, had rushed out over twenty minutes ago after a somewhat alarm-sounding alert had gone off on Mr. Knife’s phone.</p><p>Kaito had remoted into a terminal that was shadowing the operator of security doors and cameras within the last few hours, and he was currently setting half the doors to be locked for everyone and the other as locked for no one. Then, he went ahead and changed their ridiculously easy to brute force password into something a little more creative before force shutting down the machine. On to the next one.</p><p>As strong as he was, he’d already torn his fingernails to shreds attempting to rip the zip ties off of his legs. Grasping around the area around the chair hadn’t proven fruitful nor yielded any of his gadgets the professor had given to him. He was pretty sure one of the transmitters he'd had on him had been able to get a signal out, and that he was on the verge of being rescued. Otherwise, he was sure to be in some form of trouble once his captors found out the mess he was making of their network.</p><p>Speak of the devil, and they shall appear. A heavy thunk followed by a string of curses found his lovely captor – the same as before, his Mr. Knife – rushing into the room followed by a slam of the door. The door was then shot by the man a couple of times, as though the door itself owed him money. Kaito felt a heat coming towards his head, and the man shoved a knife into his hands.</p><p>“Cut yourself loose. No funny business.” Mr. Knife spoke, gruff.</p><p>Kaito quickly undid the bindings on his legs and massaged them to get the circulation back. His reprieve was small as something smashed into the door, blasting through it as though kicked by a great force. Mr. Knife roughly grabbed Kaito by the shoulders, one arm wrapping around his torso in a restrictive hold while the other hand no doubt pointed at his head or the person picking their way through the doorway.</p><p>“Stop right there or I’ll kill him. Drop the gun.” His captor said, something like hysteria growing in his voice. His grip tightened on the last three words, and Kaito became reacquainted with a barrel of a gun on his head, the heat of the last bullets fading away, perhaps even psychosomatic. Kaito wasn’t in a position to care about that.</p><p>A clunk and a small kick was heard as his potential ally dropped their weapon and kicked it over.</p><p>“You’re surrounded. There is no escape and killing him will only make whatever punishment you get that much worse, Gin. Let him go and turn yourself in.” A familiar, if not unexpectedly too deep voice announced. <i>Shinichi?</i> Kaito thought to himself. <i>Wow, he sounds kind of hot.</i></p><p>
  <i>Focus!</i>
</p><p>Kaito wasn’t entirely sure how to help. His limited martial arts wouldn’t stop this ‘Gin’ from pulling the trigger, hurting either Shinichi or himself, and he’d rather not have a bullet become acquainted with his internal organs, thank you very much. That left a few avenues, one of them being the dreadful wait and see. Kaito readied his legs to be in a better stance, shifting in Gin’s stance.</p><p>Kaito paused. Whereas previously, Gin’s grip had been like steel, unsure and in histrionics. However, now, he seemed… calmer. Kaito strained his senses to see why his potential killer was suddenly surer of himself, and caught the sound of a boot scuffing carpet, and a silenced pistol being cocked.</p><p>
  <i>There was a fourth person in the room.</i>
</p><p>Kaito was suddenly very, very anxious. Something told him that while Gin may be aware of this new party, Shinichi wasn’t. Kaito couldn’t just yell out to Shinichi for fear the assailant would shoot one of them and Gin the other. Waiting was just as much a death sentence.</p><p>
  <i>Well, if I’m going to die anyways.</i>
</p><p>Kaito opened his eyes.</p><p>The world exploded in color, textures, light, and fractal patterns that seemed to become like a kaleidoscope the longer he looked at them. His possibly concussed head pounded to the step of his heart, and he felt like puking. His eyes landed on his walking cane.</p><p>The one Professor Agase had modified.</p><p>The one Professor Agase had added an electric prod to on the end.</p><p>Kaito felt the aura of an oncoming seizure, and knew his time was short for decisions. His eyes flickered up and in Shinichi’s direction. Their eyes met, and Kaito felt a twinge in his gut as his world righted itself. He blinked, waited a fraction of a second, and blinked again. He met Shinichi’s eyes, wide with fear, wonder, and adrenaline, and gestured with his own towards Shinichi’s back and at the cattle prod. Shinichi gave him a short nod.</p><p>They both exploded into action simultaneously.</p><p>Shinichi spun and grabbed a nearby object and <i>slammed</i> his foot into it, the aim of the object already in the direction of the fourth party’s trajectory. Shinichi then dove for his previously abandoned weapon, a modified multi-chamber tranquilizer gun.</p><p>Kaito bent his knees, slipping out of Gin’s now very loose grip, and launched himself in the direction of his walking cane. Gin, fast as lightning, brought his gun to bear as Kaito swung the electric end of the cane into his neck.</p><p>Unfortunately for Kaito, Gin was faster.</p><p>Knocked out by dual electricity and tranquilizer, Gin toppled to the floor, where Kaito struggled to sit up, blood beginning to pool around his abdomen.</p><p>“Fuck that hurt.”</p><p>Shinichi stared at him from across the room before rushing to his side and beginning to triage his wound. </p><p>“There’s an exit wound, so the bullet went right through you at least. I don’t think it hit anything major, so you shouldn’t bleed out.” Shinichi glanced around the floor behind him, looking to confirm the bullet was out when he paused, which worried Kaito.</p><p>“What is it?”</p><p>“I think something else came out with the bullet. But, this doesn’t make sense,” Shinichi said, holding up a blood red gem.</p><p>
  <i>Fucking Pandora.</i>
</p><p>Kaito wanted to scream. Kaito wanted to throw the gem across the room.</p><p>Kaito decided passing out was a better idea.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0010"><h2>10. Chapter 10</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    
<p></p><div class="center">
  <p>
  <br/>
</p>
</div><p>Shinichi hadn’t been this happy in such a long time. It had been a month since the take down of the main branch of the Black Org, a month since he’d gotten his actual body back. The first time he’d reached for and successfully taken a glass down from a high shelf without even going on his tiptoes, he’d brought the glass to Kaito in a very out-of-character gleeful state, merely showing him the glass and beaming with pride. Kaito, who had also recovered something taken from him, understood, after all.</p>
<p>Members of the Black Org were still out there – might always be out there. Vermouth, among them, was likely long gone, and she may never resurface again in any recognizable form. The Japanese government was still dealing with the files and experiments that had been uncovered and were still being discovered across Japan and other countries. Many of the documents were written in code and referred to individuals using nicknames or code words. The experiments, however, were another thing entirely. Shinichi had been surrounded by death, and even he hadn’t been able to stomach seeing them.</p>
<p>A finger flicked his nose, and Shinichi blinked, his eyes focusing first on his nose before refocusing on the pouting face of Kaito in front of him.</p>
<p>“You were brooding.”</p>
<p>“I was <i>not</i> brooding,” he replied, broodily.</p>
<p>“You were totally brooding on our date! Shinichi, for shame!” Kaito responded, gleefully shoving another bite of what Shinichi believed was called an ‘Ice cream Apocalypse.’ Shinichi had fake-gagged on sight of it, and Kaito had stuck his tongue out on his simple black coffee.</p>
<p>Shinichi really hadn’t been this happy in a while.</p>
<p>Kaito was eating his ice cream and ignoring Shinchi, perhaps due to his ‘slight’ on their date. Shinichi knew he’d forgive him – he certainly wasn’t going to let this be the first and only of their dates, and Kaito seemed to fully reciprocate the feeling. Shinichi reached out, hand cupping Kaito’s face and drawing it away from the garish bowl of ice cream before him. Kaito looked over at him quizzically, eyes growing wide as Shinichi brought his own face close.</p>
<p>“Kaito… there’s something I wanted to tell you for a while.”</p>
<p>“Shinichi?”</p>
<p>Shinichi leaned in, their breath mingling.</p>
<p>“You’ve got ice cream all over your face.”</p>
<p>Kaito instantly scowled at his stupid smile, gaping mouth instantly shutting. Kaito rubbed his cheek with a provided handkerchief until it came back clear. In a sing-song voice, Kaito said:</p>
<p>“Better to not play these games, Shinichi-chan~!”</p>
<p>Shinichi found Kaito’s lips smashed against his own and a scandalous gasp from a third party. Blushing furiously, he pulled away, brushing Kaito’s hands off of his lapels to find Heiji standing before them. Kaito, smug, went back to eating his ice cream, leaving Shinichi to deal with this development.</p>
<p>Heiji looking stunned, dutifully sat down. He continued to make small, affronted noises, as though the sight of Kaito and Shinichi kissing was still sinking in. Shinichi refused to humor this display of stupidity.</p>
<p>“Heiji, to what do we owe the pleasure?” Shinichi congratulated himself – he had finally been able to say Heiji in public without adding on his usual ‘-niisan’ epithet. Another small victory in reclaiming himself.</p>
<p>“Seems like all the pleasure is yours… Anyway, Kudou, I was just in the neighborhood and saw you two in here. Didn’t realize it was a <i>date</i>. Don’t worry, I’ll leave you both be.”</p>
<p>Shinichi was glad to hear that, wanting more time to learn more about Kaito. The more time they spent together, the more Shinichi found merit in the idea of a soulmate – perhaps not his other half, but more of a complementary mind that forced himself to be a better version of himself. As happy as he was, Heiji kept trying to make eye contact with Kaito, who was steadfastly looking away from Heiji.</p>
<p>Heiji moved to stand in the location where Kaito was looking, only for Kaito to grin and glance away yet again. Obviously frustrated, Heiji huffed and left with a parting, “Be that way!”</p>
<p>“Kaito-kun… what the hell was that?”</p>
<p>“Oh, nothing, Shinichi. Let’s head back to your place!” Kaito said suspiciously.</p>
<p>“You haven’t finished your – “ Shinichi began, looking down at the abomination against food Kaito had ordered only to choke on those words at the sight of a polished ice cream dish. His soulmate was an absolute monster, and he fell a little bit more in love. “Oh. I see. Well, if you’re so insistent.”</p>
<p>They paid for their meal, and Kaito grabbed his hand. It was a short walk back to the Kudou mansion, but Kaito was still able to fill it with two stories and a magic trick. Where Kaito had been hiding doves throughout their date and the movie beforehand, Shinichi would never know. Something felt off once they stepped through the gate and onto the mansion property. Kaito dragged him forward, opening the door to the mansion before Shinichi could put the clues together and stop Kaito. Stop Kaito from dragging him into this –</p>
<p>“SURPISE!!”</p>
<p>A cacophony of noise and confetti rained down, more doves appearing seemingly out of nowhere.</p>
<p>
  <i>Ah. I’ve forgotten my birthday again. Fuck.</i>
</p>
<p>The small entryway, kitchen, and staircase were full of people. As people came forward to talk with him, a small part of his mind marveled at the sheer amount of people that had been willing to come to this party. This certainly wasn’t the first surprise birthday party his mother had thrown for him – mostly because he forgets them, and they were <i>always</i> surprises. However, those had been somewhat small affairs with his mother, father, Ran, and sometimes Professor Agase. In front of him today were all of the people he had gotten to know as Conan.</p>
<p>Many of these people had learned during the initial fallout of the fall of the Black Org. Megure, Sato, Takagi, Jodie, among many others of law enforcement and detective agencies. Others had learned in the following weeks as details were declassified – first to a small group of people, and then to the public and other national governments. The Japanese government was unable to hide the scope of the Black Org’s operations, and many had agreed that bringing the whole thing to light was the right way to go forward with it. The latter group was the more contentious group of people who felt lied to – Ran, Sonoko, Kogori, Kazuha, among other people precious to him. Even the Detective Boys were here, as confusing as the whole ‘16-year-old in a 6-year-old body’ situation was. Heiji, his parents, Ai, Professor Agase and Kaito were also in attendance.</p>
<p></p><div class="center">
  <p>⠞⠓⠑ ⠏⠁⠗⠞⠽ ⠉⠕⠝⠉⠇⠥⠙⠑⠎</p>
</div><p>Cake, many congratulations, and a large diminishing of those in attendance to the party later, and Shinichi threw himself down on an empty couch in the Kudou library. Kaito quickly jumped on the other end of the couch before plastering himself to Shinichi’s side, relaxing into him. Kaito had surprised him further that night with a small gift – matching rings inscribed on the inside with each other’s soul marks. Shinichi looked forward to never removing his, the small etching on the inside of Kaito’s soul mark as he had described it back to Kaito. Shinichi wrapped his arm around Kaito, and let out a long, tired sigh.</p>
<p>“What, not a good party?” Kaito asked.</p>
<p>“No, not that.” The last guest to leave had been Ran, who had tearfully hugged Shinichi goodbye. There was obviously still a sore spot in their friendship from the lies and the deceit, but Shinichi had promised to never lie to her again, even for her own good. She had laughed at that. “It’s just, I’m very happy.”</p>
<p>“You’re sad that you’re happy?” Kaito asked, raising his head to give Shinichi a confused look.</p>
<p>Shinichi tilted his head awkwardly so that they were face-to-face. He stared into Kaito’s eyes, the soul mark added a bright glow that seemed to make the purple of Kaito’s eyes even more brilliant. The soul mark was of a spade nested safely within the lucky embrace of a clover. Every time Shinichi saw the mark, he felt at peace. A rare feeling for a detective that death seemed to follow.</p>
<p>“I was thinking about my life without Conan in it. All of these people came here for him – most of them I wouldn’t have met without Conan. It’s weird to think about the silver lining of a situation like that when I’m still learning to not be Conan anymore. Does… Am I making sense?”</p>
<p>Kaito’s face was soft, brows drawn together in sympathy and a soft smile on his face. “It’s okay to be happy – you deserved to be happy, even just as you were as Conan. Being in a bad situation without a choice is never desired, especially with an unknown end date. You made the best of a bad hand of cards, Shinichi. You’re amazing, yeah?”</p>
<p>Shinichi captured Kaito’s hand in his own, entangling them in his own. “I was only Conan for a little less than a year. You were blind for almost a decade. If anyone made the most of a bad situation, it was you, Kaito.”</p>
<p>“Puh-lease, as if being blind is as bad as being reverted to a pipsqueak. At least I could reach the top shelf of the cabinet. Besides, I’m pretty sure I’ve run into more things in the last month than the years preceding it! Milly is on the verge of disowning me for shame of the klutz I’ve become.”</p>
<p>“Regardless, Kaito – you’re amazing, too. Yeah?” Shinichi echoed.</p>
<p>“You’re damn straight.” Kaito said, surging up for another teeth knocking kiss. Shinichi was pleased to note that these kisses needed improvement, and <i>boy was he going to enjoy improving them</i>. A few moments – minutes? – later they parted, settling back into the couch together, enjoying the warmth of each other’s company.</p>
<p>“We’re going to have to deal with <i>her</i> eventually, Tantei-kun.” Kaito stated softly.</p>
<p>Shinichi tensed, his grip around Kaito drawing them closer together. “Do you have any idea where to start? <i>She</i> is a lot of trouble.”</p>
<p>Pandora awaited their judgement, hidden from the world. Shinichi had been able to hide the gem away as paramedics and law enforcement flooded the room. Deciding what to do with the gem had proven difficult. Destruction seemed unwise given the curse the gem had laid on Kaito the last time it had been violently disassembled.</p>
<p>“I think I need to talk with my father.” Kaito stated before pausing, obviously choosing his next words wisely.</p>
<p>“You asked me, earlier, what I saw when I look into your eyes.” Kaito began. “It’s adventure. Well, it’s actually a moon – a crescent moon, waning into a new moon. There’s bright lights of stars in the shadow of the moon, which, yeah, they would have to be in <i>front</i> of the moon to be seen like that, but this is – “ Kaito stumbled over the words. “I look into your eyes, Shinichi, and it feels like every day we spend together will be a new adventure.”</p>
<p>Shinichi wasn’t sure what to say. Kaito continued.</p>
<p>“My father is still in hiding, all because of <i>her</i>. It’s been a month and he still hasn’t come home. I know he’s not dead, I <i>know</i> it. Shinichi, I won’t make you, but I will ask: will you help me find my father? – even if it leads us both back into something dangerous?”</p>
<p>Shinichi didn’t actually need the moment to think, but he <i>did</i> need the moment to prepare. A small movement brought a brilliant red rose into his hand, which he presented to the supremely delighted and surprised Kaito. He held it out to him without forcing it on him.</p>
<p>“Only if you’ll have me, Kaito.”</p>
<p>Kaito took the rose as though it were a precious gift instead of something Shinichi had bought earlier today in preparation for their date. They both had tumultuous pasts and the world before them in the present. They were each other’s one constant that they could be absolutely sure of going forward.</p>
<p>“Always.”</p>
<p></p><div class="center">
  <p>=⠋⠊⠝=</p>
</div>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Welp, lovelies, this was an amazing big bang! I had a lot of fun, and I can only hope that I brought a smile to your face during your journey with me through the event or through the story crafted by Ota-chan and I. Again, check her out or the big bang tumblr itself, linked in the other <i>End Notes</i>.</p>
<p>A quick side note: I did a lot of research into blindness and different accommodations for people with little to no sight. Any of the things represented in this story are completely possible for someone with little to no eye sight. Kaito's case is interesting, as he can see light and dark through his eyelids, whereas most 'blind' people actually have a lot more sight, and can see the world in a form of mosaic or impressionist painting, light included. If you feel like the way I represented Kaito as a blind person was in any way disrespectful, feel free to reach out! </p>
<p>Comments and questions are appreciated, though I'll go ahead and answer some of my own questions here:</p>
<p><b>Why was Pandora whole in Kaito's body?</b><br/>Well, I wanted this to be a Pandora has cursed Kaito. Mostly due to his proximity to the shards of gem when Pandora was shot chapter 2. From there, the shards interferred and <i>enhanced</i> his eye sight to the point of occipital lobe overload, and, thus, the seizures. Upon seeing his soulmate, which is in-this-universe a very ocular thing, Pandora reformed into a gem and gave Kaito his normal, not so spectacular sight back. In the process, the bullet lucky hit Pandora and ripped her out of Kaito. How fun!</p>
<p><b> What was up with Heiji? </b><br/>I just imagine Heiji associating Kudou heavily with Shinichi (remember, in canon, they spend like 99% of time together as Conan &amp; Heiji), so he makes fun of Kudou with false shock as though he's a Southern Bell in need of fanning. Kudou hates it.</p>
<p><b> Why did the Black Org need hackers? </b><br/>Gotta ask Gosho on that one. It's a major plot point for the Black Org along with biochemical science. My favorite theory is that the Black Org is trying to resurrect Renya Karasuma, who has been dead for 'over 40 years', yet still leads the Black Org, mostly through texts... perhaps his brain has been uploaded into a machine? Don't mind me and my tin foil hat. orz</p>
<p><b> What happens with Ai? How did she cure Shinichi so fast? </b><br/>Again, canon has shown Ai to have received some information from the Black Org on the APTX antidote and has also shown she hasn't shared it with Shinichi. I like to imagine she's trying to find something that works to cure him without using him like a guinea pig. In this story, she stays a kid to enjoy her second childhood, considering the mess her real childhood was...</p>
<p><b> Does Kaito keep Milly? </b><br/>Yes, he does! As for if she keeps him, well...</p>
<p><b> Is Kaito's father still alive? </b><br/>Yes. Canon also sometimes supports this...</p>
<p><b> Why do you use italics so much? </b><br/>I can't help myself... They are so useful for tone... Forgive me!</p>
<p>Any other questions, feel free to ask!</p>
        </blockquote><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Let me know if there are any formatting errors or grammatical mistakes. Chapters should be up shortly after posting of this first chapter. Make sure to show some love to the other artists and writers by checking out their works in this collection or from the postings on the kaishinbigbang <a href="https://kaishinbigbang.tumblr.com/"> tumblr </a>.</p><p>Artwork for this story was drawn by <a href="https://ota-chan.tumblr.com/post/625486825723756544/here-is-my-half-of-the-here-is-my-half-of-the"> Ota-chan </a>. Make sure to check out the art they've posted for full-scale!</p><p>Lastly, you're an amazing person, and you deserve the best! Never forget that!</p></blockquote></div></div>
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